January 2019

Abraham and the Sacrifice of Isaac: How Travelers Re-visits the Biblical Story Through AI Theology

Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. So the two of them walked on together. Isaac said to his father Abraham, “Father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” He said, “The fire and the wood are here, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” Abraham said, “God himself will provide the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” So the two of them walked on together. Gen 22: 6-8.

One of the most powerful narratives of the Hebrew Bible is the story of Abraham’s near-sacrifice of his son Isaac. The book of Genesis tells us that God, after promising and delivering a son to Abraham at old age, one day asked him to sacrifice him as an offer back to God. The absurdity of the request is matched by Abraham’s unquestioning obedience.

As he is taking Isaac to the place of sacrifice, the young boy asks where was the animal to be sacrificed. In a prophetic statement, the father of the Hebrew faith simply answered: “God will provide.” The agony and suspense continues as Abraham ties his sleeping son and raises the knife to end the young boy’s life. That is when God intervenes, relieving Abraham from the unbearable task of killing his own son. It was a gruesome test, but Abraham passed. Thinking of my 16 month-old boy, I cannot imagine ever coming this close.

Episode 3 of the third season of Travelers tells a story with too many parallels to the Old Testament story to ignore. For those not familiar with the show, let me give you a quick overview of its plot. Travelers are people from the a distant apocalyptic future whose consciousness travel to the present and take on bodies of those who are about to die. They work in teams to complete missions that are meant to change the course of history. They take their orders from an advanced AI that has the ability to work out the best alternative in other to improve the future. They refer to it simply as the Director.

In episode three, Mack (Erick McCormack) the team leader, tries to re-trace their last mission. Waking up with a gap in his memory, he suspects that his team altered his memory for some unknown reason. The episode unfolds as Mack pieces together the events from the previous day.

Misguided Good Deeds Lead to Unintended Consequences

In season one, we met an adopted boy called Alecsander. As the team is executing their mission, the historian (the team member who knows the future), throws a curve ball by sending them to save this little boy. He knew that the boy was in an abusive situation and therefore creates the intervention to save him. Seems like a noble action except that this was not in the Director’s plan. Travelers were trained to never deviate from the plan. Therefore, even though they are able to rescue the boy, the implications of this deviation are unknown.

Fast forward to episode three of season three, we eventually find out the team’s mission for the previous day. The Director, knowing that Alecsander was destined to become a psychopath, task the team to eliminate him. A reckless good deed, operating outside the director’s plan had created bigger problems for the future. It was time to course-correct.

Mack, the team leader, draws the responsibility to himself. They pick up the boy in his current foster home and their fears are confirmed. The boy was growing recluse and disturbingly violent with animals – early signs of a troubled adulthood to come.

Mack takes the boy to a deserted woods with the intention of killing him. . While walking in the woods, they find a struggling coyote who is facing a painful end of life. Mack ends his misery with a shot.

Next, they share a meal around the fire, cooking a rabbit the boy had previously caught. There, they have a heart-to-heart conversation where Mack demonstrates to the boy that he is seen, known and understood. Mack becomes the father that Alecsander never had. All of this only heightens the tension as these tender moments contrast with Mack’s dreadful mission. Just as Abraham, Mack agonizes over his assignment while also showing love to the troubled boy.

As the climactic scene begins, they dig a hole to bury the dead coyote. The altar is ready for the sacrifice. Once they place the dead animal in the designated place, Aleksander asks to say a prayer. As the boy is praying in memory of the dead animal, Mack steps back reluctantly. He pulls out his gun as he see the designated time of boy’s death approaches. He points the gun and prepares to pull the trigger. At that moment, just like Yahweh in Genesis, the director intervenes. Instead of an angel, the AI speaks through the boy : “mission abort.” Just like Isaac, the boy is spared.

Later in the episode, Mack’s teammates inform him that the director had a change of plans. Apparently, Mack’s heart-to-heart conversation with the boy changed his future. The assurance of love from a father figure was enough to halt a future of serial murders.

New Avenues of Meaning

There is so much to unpack in this episode that I can’t hardly do justice in a few paragraphs. As stated above, the episode draws some clear parallels with the biblical story but does not re-tell it outright. I honestly even wonder if the writers had the biblical story in mind when formulating the episode. Yet, using the Biblical story as a backdrop allows us to reflect deeper into the many themes addressed here.

One underlying theme throughout the show is the conflict between the AI’s plan and human action. Often times, travelers struggle to follow through with the mission as conditions on the ground change. At its core, it explores the philosophical debate between free-will and determinism.

Classical theism resolves this tension on the side of determinism, often referred to as “God’s will.” In its extreme forms, this thinking paints the picture of a detached God whose plans and will cannot be altered. Hebrew Scripture does not always support this script as it contains some examples where Yahweh changed his mind. Yet, this idea of God’s immutability made its way into Western Christian thought early on and has persisted to our time. For many, God is the absolute ruler that controls every aspect of the universe while also demanding blind loyalty from humans.

For the most part, the same is true in the relationship between the travelers and the Director. Mack, especially, is often the one who claims and demands unquestioning loyalty to the Director’s mission. This episode illustrates this well as Mack showed complete willingness to carry out the unthinkable mission of killing the young boy.

Yet, the emphasis of the episode is not on Mack’s loyalty but in how by showing love to the boy, he altered his future. Mack’s actions changed the director’s plans. It suggests that human action can bending the will of a greater being (or technology in this case).

Sacrificial love can alter divine plans.

Hence, this well-written Science-Fiction series challenges us to re-think our relationship with the divine. Is it possible to move the heart of God or is our job simply to accept his will? Do humans have real power to shape their future or is it all pre-determined by a higher power?

What do you think?

AI Revelation: From Natural to Artificial Theology

Systematic theology organizes theological ideas into topics. The original intent was to construct a system that could explain the many facets of the Christian faith to its adherents. If Scripture described the experience of God through history, systematic theology sought to organize the knowledge emerging from that historical experience into a cohesive group of propositions and arguments. This system consists of specific topics that include esoteric terms, often coming from Greek or Latin such as Trinity, Eschatology and Deification. Each of these terms carry centuries of arguments, reflections and stories within them.

Dusting off Seminary Books

It is unfortunate that such approach has now fallen into neglect. Even those who have studied these concepts in seminary will often not use them again in sermons, writings even less day-to-day conversations. When was the last time you discussed the different views of the Trinity with your spouse? Their historical nature is what makes them both distinctive but also disconnected from contemporary language. They require a pre-requisite knowledge that is no longer taught in western societies.

Even so, maybe it is time we re-visit this age-old tradition with a fresh perspective. In that vein, I have recently gathered some books I acquired in seminary and browsed through them again. Almost three years since I have graduated, I must confess my theological thinkings has grown rusty. Just like any art or skill, you lose it if you don’t use it.

As I looked over them, I re-encountered the concept of revelation. This loaded term is theology’s way to describe how God communicates with humanity. It speaks of the role of Scripture, tradition and experience in how divine truth is communicated. I acknowledge that in a secular world, the idea that an unseen being would speak is quite scandalous. Yet, hang in there for a bit.

General, Special and Natural

Theologians have often divided the topic into general and special revelation. Special revelation speaks of the exclusive way in which God directly speaks through the Hebrew and the Christian faith. This is where Scripture and religious experience fits in. Yet, theologians recognize that God’s revelation was not limited to those means. That is where the concept of general revelation emerged as a way to express these instances where God communicates through non-religious means.

One way general revelation occurs is through nature. I can personally attest to that reality. Many times I have had life-changing moments of clarity, peace and resolve while hiking through the woods. There is something compelling about being outdoors. It touches our senses in rich ways.

Thomas Aquinas, a church father and one of the first systematic theologians, recognized this reality and developed some thinking around this phenomenon. This later became known as natural theology – the idea that nature also contains divine truths available to all humans regardless of religious persuasion. Unfortunately, natural theology fell in disrepute with the Reformation. In an effort to elevate the role of God in salvation, reformers emphasized special over general revelation. In reacting against traditional Catholic thinking, they ended up closing the door on this rich avenue of meaning.

From Natural to Artificial

In a multicultural and secular world, the idea of general revelation cannot be denied. That is why Christian theologians and believers must reconsider natural theology. It is time to re-visit Aquinas’ legacy and re-formulate it anew in a technological era.

It is also time to introduce a new concept: Artificial theology. If natural theology focused on how God could speak through nature, consequently artificial theology should explore how God could speak through technology. What if revelation could happen through algorithms? Can we find God in the countless pieces of data circulating through the cyber world?

Many of us can attests that one can find transcendence in nature. However, when it comes to our experience with technology, transcendence is not the first word that comes to mind. More often than not, technology connotes a lifeless sense of utility. It is more like an imitation of reality than reality itself. Hence why we tend define it artificial, implying the opposite of natural. Yet, by doing so, we shut out a growing part of our human experience from divine connection.

Dutch theologian Albert Kuyper believed that no square inch of existence was beyond God’s dominion. If this is true, it must also include our silicon world. The first step in this journey is to open our eyes to this reality.

Re-Thinking Worship: Seeing Liturgy as Technology

Can the technical and the religious intersect? In this blog I want to explore what happens when we look at liturgy (the order of Christian rituals) as technology. What kind of new insights can this perspective provide?

A Personal Struggle

For a few years now, my family has struggled to plug into a church. Part of that is the phase of our lives with small children. Getting three kids ready make any outings an elaborate event! Yet, I know there is more to it. This external struggle only reflects what is happening internally with me and my wife. After growing up as active members in Christian communities we find ourselves struggling to find a spiritual home (in the way we traditionally understood it). Church is no longer an anchoring community but instead a trigger for painful memories. Going to church does not give meaning to our lives as it used to even as we still hold on to the faith it preaches.

This perception is also spilling over to our kids. Any time I mention to my two older girls (8 and 6) about going to church, protest follows. I guess they learned early to be Protestants!

When I probe further, they say that that they do not get much out of it. They don’t see the point dressing up in a Sunday morning to sit with other kids they barely know to hear stories they already know. As a father, my knee-jerk reaction is to contest these impressions, trying to affirm the slow work of grace that happens in the continual exposure to Christian rituals. Yet, the message is not getting through. Often time, I find myself being the only one at home who sees value in going to church on a Sunday morning.

This situation grieves my heart. For all its failures, I still believe in the institutional church. I also see the regular gathering of believers as an essential part of spiritual formation. Therefore, my children’s aversion to church makes me feel like I failed. I know that ultimately they will have to choose the path they need to follow. This is not under my control. Yet, I hope that by then they would have at least as much exposure as I had to the faith. Doing that without regularly participating in a Christian community is very difficult.

A Shift in Perspective

Pondering on this predicament, I wanted to understand why my view of church was so different from that of my kids. There are many differences between our upbringings in culture, language, age and technology. What I realized, however, is that through practice and study, I was encouraged and trained to see the grandeur of God in the life of the church. This has come to me through many avenues. One of them was music and the experience of worship. Another was through listening to preachers and Sunday School teachers. Additionally, I have had multiple personal mystical experiences, deeply personal and emotionally rich, that affirmed the realities being spoken in church. Through study, my vision of the body of Christ expanded beyond a group of a few hundred whom I join on a weekly basis to an unbroken communion of people affirming this faith over time in all continents of the earth. The latter, is one of the main reasons why I still believe in the institution.

The problem is that I expected my young children to simply get all that by simply dropping them off in a nursery or Sunday school class on a weekly basis. This becomes even more complicated when they are bombarded from multiple influences throughout the week that claim their attention. They are not growing up in the same world I was. A new context require different measures.

In view of this realization, I decided to take upon myself the responsibility to pass on the faith, in the best way I can, directly to my children. Relying on others to do is not working. Maybe then, they will come to yearn for gathering with other Christians on a weekly basis. That theological degree may finally come in handy after all!

Liturgy as Technology

As I considered ways to pass on the Christian faith to my children, I wondered whether I could see liturgy as technology.

To level set, liturgy means the order and content of how Christian services are conducted. It it encompasses prayers, music, reading, taking communion (or the Eucharist), baptism, etc. Liturgy is what people do when they come together for worship, hence, the “work of the people.” When ministers prepare for a Sunday service, they consider what the experience communicates. It goes beyond words but can include sounds, aromas and visuals. All these elements shape, direct and communicate through the worship experience. Over time, good liturgy changes those who regularly participate in it. There is not such thing as a liturgical church because every congregation follows a liturgy. Some are implied rather than explicitly stated.

What is the connection with technology? If technology is applied science to solve a problem, liturgy is applied theology to form character. In other words, it is a means, albeit important, to foster divine encounters. These encounters, re-order desires, transform souls and develop faith. When working properly, they have the power to make us better people.

If we are willing to accept this analogy, I wonder if the problem that my kids see no relevance in church is a technical rather than a spiritual one. I wonder if the liturgy is inadequate to do the work at their level of understanding. By that, I don’t mean that they need to experience church through more advanced technological means. The idea is not to create children’s VR church! It is much deeper than that. It is examining the elements that are not working properly and test alternatives that work better.

Can I pass on a faith that will stick over time? Will the liturgy, like a technology, work properly towards that goal? How effective are our liturgies in the goal of spiritual formation?